Mailbag

Letters from our readers

Grave ascent

You quote Nancy Pelosi, the first female Speaker of the House ("2007 News of the year," Dec. 29/Jan. 5), as saying: "For our daughters and our granddaughters, today we have broken the marble ceiling." Perhaps she could use the broken pieces of marble to mark the graves of the aborted children, including "our daughters and granddaughters," the deaths of whom she so heartily approves. -Rollin Mann; Sierra Madre, Calif.

Freedom to stress

Andrée Seu well described the difficulty of having certainty in our daily decision-making ("Uncertain at best," Dec. 29/Jan. 5). Her solution, that it's OK to "venture" without 100 percent certainty, is not only correct, but probably what we often do anyway. I would add that our thousands of choices each day cause not freedom, but anxiety. It becomes harder to make decisions, and even when made they often haunt us, making us wonder if they were correct or if we got the best deal. -Harry Swofford; Oregon City, Ore.

Not to mention

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I realize that legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson died too late in the year to make your year-end obituaries ("Departures," Dec. 29/Jan. 5), but I think you could have found room to recognize Michael Brecker, one of the greatest saxophonists of all time, who died early this year of a blood disorder at age 57. -Preston Kauk; Cupertino, Calif.

I was hoping you would have included 102-year-old Hollywood character actor Charles Lane, who died in July. He's terrific as the befuddled IRS auditor in You Can't Take It With You (1938). -Al Shumard; Greensboro, N.C.

A Christian voice

Thank you for the good word about our production of The Screwtape Letters ("Contra devils and ghouls," Dec. 29/Jan. 5). We made it a priority to build a collaborative environment where people with opposing or indifferent worldviews could work together. There is a babel of voices within the New York theater scene, and the response to Screwtape tells us that there is room for a Christian voice willing to meet the highly critical standards of the theater community. -Max McLean, Fellowship for the Performing Arts; Morristown, N.J.

Testing

Those voters administering a religion test of Mitt Romney should cease and desist from this bigotry ("The right question," Dec. 22). When they do they will find that he would be a wonderful president, a totally honest and seasoned executive ready to head up the executive branch. -Glen Bellows; Bettendorf, Iowa

Kudos to Joel Belz for his column on Romney. Evangelical leaders are far off base for accusing of bigotry those who question Romney on the basis of his Mormonism. Why should a candidate's religious beliefs be exempt from scrutiny, especially if these beliefs might affect his decision-making? The U.S. Constitution prevents the government from imposing a religion test, but individual voters certainly have the right to impose their own tests. -Irving E. Friedman; Irvine, Calif.

What specifically might Romney do in office that Christians might find objectionable that relates to Mormonism? I grew up in Michigan and am very familiar with the Romney name. He stands head and shoulders above the rest of the candidates. Huckabee would be easy to beat, and once Christians know more about him it will be too late to change horses. -Carolyn White; Carrollton, Texas

Jimmy Carter had the right views on some social issues but he was the worst president of the modern era because of his fiscal and foreign policies. Mike Huckabee ("Out from the shadows," Dec. 22) is a fine, compassionate, Christian man, but his big-spending, big-government views are not consistent with conservative values. -Igor Shpudejko; Mahway, N.J.

If the GOP race comes down to Giuliani vs. Huckabee ("Handicapping the GOP race," Dec. 8), what should social conservatives do? Giuliani's election would result in the same social policies that Hillary would adopt and might well bring about the loss of the Republican Party as the party officially committed to life, making the pro-life movement a political orphan. And number me among the doubters that he would appoint strict constructionist judges. But can Huckabee win? Like the late Ronald Reagan, Huckabee is right on the issues, a friend of Jeffersonian democracy, and a foe of centralizing power in Washington. He does not have the star quality of Reagan, but he has the same aw-shucks demeanor, the same unforced eloquence, and the same grace and good humor under pressure. -Steven W. Mosher; Front Royal, Va.

Unsung warriors

Thank you for honoring those who work in the pregnancy centers of our nation, the unsung warriors on the front line of the battle for life. By honoring Wanda Kohn ("Daniel of the Year, 2007," Dec. 15), you honor thousands of pregnancy center employees and volunteers. -Carol Everett; Round Rock, Texas

Caution, not commerce

The jury may still be out regarding human impact on greenhouse gases and global warming, but caution ought not to give way to commerce. We may discover in three years or five that alarmism regarding climate change was appropriate in 1997 when the Kyoto Protocol was first proposed ("Stealth Kyoto," Dec. 22). If the decision to avoid a more pro-active approach to stewardship of the planet is driven by commercial considerations rather than following a primary dictum of Almighty God, shame on us. -Christopher Gould; Cypress, Calif.

Death for its own sake?

Supporters of embryonic stem-cell research simply do not seem to be able to understand that the destruction of life is neither the most effective nor the most moral approach to saving life. Despite the recent breakthrough in adult stem-cell research ("Where they stand," Dec. 15), scientific and political supporters of embryonic stem-cell research, such as Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, continue to push their agenda, even though it is no longer the only or the best way to achieve their stated purpose of improving health care and saving lives. Do they simply desire the destruction of human life for its own sake? -Johnathan Osborn; Larkspur, Colo.

The basic question

While I agree that the historical evidence refutes the idea that the words of Jesus were later additions to what really happened ("Liar, lunatic, Lord?" Dec. 8), I would have challenged Marvin Olasky's skeptical students with the basic question: Was Jesus really God come to us in human form? The best way to answer the question is to examine the documentary evidence for the Resurrection using the tests used by historians for validity and the protocols used by lawyers for veracity. As Simon Greenleaf, a founder of Harvard Law School, put it, the four Gospels "would have been received in evidence in any of our courts of justice, without the slightest hesitation." -Donald T. Fairburn; Oxford, Ohio

Making a difference

Thank you for the story on the Amani Ministry ("'Higher peace' dividends," Dec. 8), which sells products made by African women who have escaped a life of prostitution. I ordered several and gave them as Christmas gifts. It's wonderful to make a difference in someone's life by purchasing these beautiful purses. -Rebecca Morrison; Flint, Texas

New and improved

I love the new direction of WORLD. Getting it every two weeks gives me more time to read it. Kudos to the Year in Review issue, especially. I loved it! -Jayla Freeman, 16; Lawrenceville, Ga.

Corrections

Up and coming singer-songwriters in Brooklyn include Sarah Fullen. An independent rock group with Christian roots is The Gregory Brothers ("Highway to heaven," Jan. 12/19, p. 32).

Murree Christian School closed after a terrorist attack in 2002 but reopened in 2004 ("Assassination of a dream," Jan. 12/19, p. 46).

The Oregon legislature considered but did not pass a bill containing language that presumed crisis pregnancy centers "misinform and mislead women" about abortion ("Pro-life hot sheet," Jan. 12/19, p. 62).